Single valve, double cam actuator pneumatic system for a laundry appliance



Sept. 29, 1964 A. D. ISHOY ETAL 3,151,067

SINGLE VALVE, DOUBLE CAM ACTUATOR PNEUMATIC SYSTEM FOR A LAUNDRYAPPLIANCE Filed July 51, 1961 s Sheets-Sheet 1 r A TTORLVE YS p 1964 A.D. ISHOY ETAL 3, 7

SINGLE VALVE, DOUBLE CAM ACTUATOR PNEUMATIC SYSTEM FOR A LAUNDRYAPPLIANCE Filed July 31, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 y YIQ/(id 36 16 TTORNE Y5Sept. 29, 1964 A D ISHOY ETAL 3,151,067

5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 51, 1961 INVENTORJ 32 24/1671 ,0. 13,4 0y

31 14/4072. Ito 2 6 A ORNEYS Sept. 29, 1964 A. D, ISHOY ETAL 3, 7

SINGLE VALVE, DOUBLE CAM ACTUATOR PNEUMATIC SYSTEM FOR A LAUNDRYAPPLIANCE Filed July 31, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 A TTORNEYS United StatesPatent 3,151,957 STNGLE VALVE, DQUBLE CAM ACTUATOR PNEU- MATEQ SYSTEMFDR A LAUNDRY APPLIANCE Albert D. lshoy, Hartford, and William F. Scott,Benton Harbor, Mich, assignors to Whirlpool Corporation, St. Joseph,Mich, a corporation of Delaware Fiied .iuiy 31, 1961, Ser. No. 128,079 4(Ilaims. (1. 210-144) The present invention relates broadly toacceleration control systems, and is more particularly concerned With anovel apparatus wherein a horizontal or substantially horizontal axistype drum is limited to a safe optimum rotative speed in response todeflections of the drum due to rotation of unbalanced loads therein.

The principles of the present invention can readily be incorporated inany balancing system and method wherein it is desired to counterbalanceunsymmetrically disposed centrifugal forces generated because ofunbalance in a rotating body. However, because these principles find aparticularly useful application to a laundry machine and method, theinvention is described and illustrated in connection with a specificlaundry machine designed for domestic utilization.

It is highly desirable from the viewpoint of a housewife laundry machineoperator that a laundry load be completely washed and dried in as shorta time as possible. This criterion is applicable whether the load ofclothes to be laundered is to be linedried or machine-dried, and ineither case, the length of time required to dry a particular load issubstantially directly proportional to the quantum of liquid retained inthe material at the completion of a washing cycle.

It is further known that in either an automatic washing machine whereinclothes are washed and centrifuged, or in so-called combinationwasher-dryers wherein clothes are Washed, rinsed, spun dry and tumbleddry with the application of heat energy, that that part of the totalwashing and drying time preceding the tumble dry or line dry portion ofthe total laundering cycle time is designated as the wash portion of thetotal cycle, and cornsumes substantially the same amount of actual timefor all available machines. Therefore, the most practical substantialtime savings can be made by shortening the drying portion of the totalcycle.

The customary approach in attempted improvements in machine drying is toincrease the drying heat input to the dryer. However, this is somewhatundesirable from the standpoint of the rate of power consumption and thesomewhat increased cost of operation, and further, it is even moreundesirable by reason of engineering design considerations which arerequired because of the increased power input to the drying means.

Another approach, and that which is taken by the present invention, isto increase the rotative cylinder speed used during the extraction partof the wash cycle to thereby remove larger amounts of water from theload prior to the beginning of the tumble or line drying of the load. Byincreasing the spin speed utilized to remove additional water from theload, a power consumption savings of about eight to fifteen times may beaccomplished as contrasted with removing this additional water by thehigh power input drying process.

Assuming properly designed bearing and transmission systems, power inputis the primary factor to be considered in gauging the limit of spinspeed attainable in driving a mass about its exact center. An emptylaundry receiving cylinder rotated about its bearing axis represents anoptimum operating condition, but when a load is introduced into thecylinder, it is quite likely that the load will be distributed in such amanner that the center of mass of the loaded cylinder will not coincidewith the 3,151,067 Patented Sept. 29, 1964 cylinder bearing axis. Thisproduces an unbalanced cen trifugal force which is directly proportionalto the mass of the unbalanced portion of the total rotating mass, thesquare of the angular velocity of such unbalanced mass, and to theradius of the unbalanced mass from the rotational axis of the cylinder.

An unbalanced condition, in addition to affecting the power inputnecessary to rotate the drum or cylinder, causes serious vibrationconditions which are more pronounced in horizontal machines than invertical axis machines since the unbalanced force directed substantiallyopposite the gravitational forces acting on the machine may besufficiently great to actually lift the machine from its supportingsurface. Such violent movement is generally termed in the art aswalking.

Naturally numerous attempts have been made toward a solution of thisproblem. Some contemporary laundry machines of the horizontal axis typeoperate at a sufficiently limited spin speed so that the unbalancedloads encountered during normal operation will not produce a sufiicientamount of centrifugal force to bodily lift the machine from its support.It has further been proposed to provide control means whereby a spinmechanism will be deactivated in response to excessive motion in theapparatus so that the drum or cylinder decelerates to a tumbling speedfor redistribution of the contents therein. The final spin speed is thuslimited to a value such that the total amount of liquid centrifugallyextracted from the contents of the drum is much less than is desired. Asa consequence, a longer line drying time is required, or an additionalsupply of heat energy must be supplied if the goods are machine-dried.

An even further attempted solution of the mentioned vibration problem isto suspend the entire laundry machine together with an additional massproducing dead weight within the enclosing cabinet on a complex springsystem. Such arrangements depend upon isolation of the source ofvibration whereupon the suspended system is allowed to violently vibratewithin the cabinet with the dead weight tending to minimize the effectsof the unbalanced centrifugal forces. This approach is unsatisfactorysince the size of the enclosing cabinet must be greatly increased toallow for the violent gyratory motions of such a system during operationof the machine.

It is also within the contemplation of the prior art to sense and locateeccentric motions of the rotating body by relatively complex mechanismswhich control the addition or subtraction of weights from the rotatingcomponents of the machine, to thereby counteract the unsymmetricallydisposed centrifugal forces generated by the unbalanced conditionswithin the drum or cylinder.

in accordance with the principles of the present invention, a drum isjournaied for rotation on a substantially horizontal axis within acasing rigidly connected to a base frame. A transmission interconnectsthe drum with a drive motor, and the transmission has a low speed ratiofor tumbling fabrics at a lower washing speed and a high speed ratio forrotating the drum at higher extracting speeds for extracting fluids fromthe fabrics in the drum. As a further feature of this invention, thereis provided clutch means for changing the speed ratios of the transmission, as well as sensing means, responsive to movements of the drumdue to rotation of unbalanced loads therein at the high speed ratio, forlimiting the speed ratio of the transmission to a value between the lowand high speed ratios to thereby effect the rotation of the drum at asafe optimum speed above the lower washing speed.

Illustratively, the clutch means may be of the pneumatic type and thesensing means may include bleed-off valve means actuated by vibrationsof the drum to reduce the pneumatic pressure on the clutch means wherebythe clutch intermittently slips to prevent increased drum acchine.

removed in the interests of'clarity.

ccleration but at the same time maintaining an essentially constant drumrotative speed. In this manner, the drum speed is maintained during thewater balance function at a speed that produced sufiicient centrifugalforce on the off balance load in the drum to produce the necessarydeflection to initiate water balancing. As the off balanced load iscounterbalanced, the deflection decreases with the result that thepneumatic clutch receives uninterrupted full pressure, and accelerationagain continues.

It is accordingly an important aim of the present invention to provideacceleration control apparatus for a rotating receptacle.

Another object of this invention lies in the provision of anacceleration control system for use with counterbalance control meansand which does not impede the proper functioning thereof.

Still another object of the instant invention is to provide a systemembodying transmission means, clutch means and sensing means, andwherein the structure is so constituted that the sensing means detectsdeflections of a rotating receptacle which are greater than thedeflections which initiate performance of load balancing functions, thesensing means being in control of the clutch means to limit thetransmission speed ratio so that the receptacle rotates at a safeoptimum speed and which is further sufficiently high so that there is nointerference with the performance of the load balancing function.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparentduring the course of the following description, particularly when takenin connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughoutthe same:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a laundry machine incorporatingthe principles of the present invention, but with the outer cabinetremoved and with parts broken away and with other parts removed forclarity;

, FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the machine of FIGURE 1, withportions of the cabinet structure removed for clarity of illustration;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view constituting a layout of asensing mechanism which may be employed toinitiate the loadcounterbalancing function and transmission speed ratio limitingfunction;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line IVIV ofFIGURE} and further illustrating the sensing apparatus of thisinvention;

FIGURE 5 is a more or less diagrammatic view, with portions thereoftaken in section, showing the acceleration control system of thisinvention;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken through a twospeed transmissionemployed in the instant invention; and FIGURE 7 is a diagrammaticrepresentation of certain hydraulic circuitry incorporated in theillustrated ma- Reference "will first be made in the followingdescription to certain structural details of an exemplary form ofcombination washer-dryer, and to an illustrative type of water balancesystem used therewith. However, it will be readily appreciated that theacceleration control system of this invention is not restricted in itsuse to the particular structural organization shown in FEGURES l and 2,nor doits advantagesiflow only from use with the particular liquidbalance system. also appearing in FIG- .URES 3 and 4. As well, it willbe observed as the description proceeds that parts not necessary to adescription of the instant acceleration control system have been Asappears in FIGURES 1 and 2, a domestic laundry 7 appliance in the formof a combination washer-dryer is designated generally by the numeral11?, and comprises. an outer cabinet 11 providing an aesti etically.appealing enclosure for the machine 10. In the manner conventional inthe art, access to a treatment zone formed with:

in the machine 10 is obtained through a suitableopening in the outercabinet front wall, this front opening'bein'g closed by an access door(not shown) during the laundering operation.

Within the outer cabinet 11 is a rigid base structure shown generally at13, and which comprises a channel member 13a to which is fixedly secureda plate 14. The base structure or frame 13 further may be observed fromFIGURES l and 2 to include front legs 15 bolted to the channel member13a, and a single rear leg 16 bolted to member 17 which is welded orotherwise secured to rear wall 184: of a generally imperforate casing18.

The casing is is connected to and supported on the base frame 13 by afront wall support plate member 19 which is integrated with a front wall13b of the casing 15% by welding or similar techniques. The plate member19 is further securely fastened to the plate member 14 of the base frame13, as by bolt means or the like Ztl.

The rear wall 18:: of the casing 18 hasa centrally apertured embossedportion 21 (FIG. 2) cooperable with a support spider 22 connected infirm assembly with the rear wall 13a to rigidly mount a bearing assemblygenerally designated at 23 in which is iournaled shaft means (not shown)connected for corotation with a perforate drum or cylinder 24 rotatablewithin the casing 18.

It is to be noted that the connections provided by the parts 14 and 19between the base frame 13 and casing 18 are rigid connections, however,there is sufiicient yieldability in the support structure so that somevery small movement of the casing 13 relative to the base frame 13 mayoccur. The connections afforded by the connection of the plate members14 and 19 to the channel member 13a and the connection of the part 17 tothe casing 18 are sufficiently rigid to confine the casing 18 foroscillatory movements about an axis positioned parallel to and locatedbelow the horizontal rotational axis of the drum 24. In the machineexemplified in the drawings, such allowable arcuate movements isapproximately 0.010 inch from its normal centered position as measuredfrom an approximate 16 inch lever arm.

The machine It) is equipped with an electric drive motor 25 which ismounted on the casing 13 and is provided with a power take-off shaftdrivingly connected with a transmission 26 which is also mounted on thecasing 18. The transmission 26, which will be later described in morespecific detail, has a take-01f shaft Zfiq (FIGURE 2) mounting pulleys27 and 2.8, the pulley 27 having trained thereabout a pulley belt 29driving a pulley wheel flute rotate the drum 24. The pulley 28, on theother hand, is wrapped by a pulley belt 3]. connecting with blower means(not shown) to circulate heated drying air through the drum 24.

Machine it) is further equipped with a conventional mixing valvearrangement (not shown) as well as a sump 140 (FIGURE 7) formed in thelower portion of casing 18 for receiving fluids for the washing, rinsingand extraction operations. Sump 140 communicates with pump 141 which inturn is connected to a first two-way valve 142 which leads either-todrain for pump out operations or to a second two-way valve 143 which isprovided with one conduit 144 for recirculating washing fluid throughdrum 24 during the washing operation by way of a recirculation nozzle(not shown) and a second conduit 32 leading to nozzle (FIGURE 3) forrecirculating bal-' ancing fluid through nozzle opening 95b (FIGURE 4)during the extraction operation which balancing fluid is supplied to thefluid receivingpoclzets 39 (FIGURE 1) byway of the respective collectorsegments 45a-c comcluding the electric drive motor '25, the variousvalvemeans employed, and particularly solenoid valve means to be laterdescribed in detail which is in control of the pneumatic clutch meansforming a part of the transmission 26. The sequential control means 33by the various electrical connections conventionally employed ac'tuatesthe machine through a program consisting of washing, rinsing, extractingand drying periods. In a typical operation, the operator will load abatch of clothes to be laundered through the access door into the drum24, and upon initiation of a preselected program, the casing 13 will becharged with a supply of water. Following the washing operation, thelaundry liquid will be drained through the sump and discharged to drain,and the materials within the drum 24 are then subjected to an extractionoperation, followed by rinsing and a subsequent extraction operation,which portions of the washing cycle may be repeated as often as may bedesired in accordance with the preset program. After the finalextraction operation, the machine either continues through a dryingperiod involving operation of the drying system and including theaddition of heat of vaporization to the stream of ventilating aircirculated through the treatment zone, or the batch of materials beinglaundered may be removed from the machine by the operator for linedrying.

As earlier indicated, the acceleration control system of this inventionmay be employed in connection with various types of water balancesystems, however, one particularly advantageous balance system is shownin the application drawings in order to clearly illustrate the numerousnovel results obtained by the instant acceleration control system. Inthis connection, it is to be observed from FIGURE 1 that the drum 2% hasformed along its back wall 24a a plurality of radially extending andangularly spaced strengthening ribs 54. At the center of the back wall24a, the drum 24 is connected as at to shaft means 36 journaled in thebearing assembly 23. The outer peripheral wall of the drum 24 is formedby a foraminous wrapper 37 (FIGURE 2) and is particularly characterizedby a plurality of openings 33 through which liquid may escape from theinterior or" the drum 24 into the casing 18. The drum periphery isfurther provided at a plurality of circumferentially spaced locationstherealong with recess means provided to accommodate mounting therein ofa liquid balancing receptacle indicated generally in FIGURE 2 at 39.Each receptacle 39 comprises a generally trough-shaped tray memberhaving radially spaced walls 459 and 41, axially spaced end walls 42 and43, and a pair of spaced side walls 44. Each receptacle 39 is providedwith an inlet segment 45a, 45b and 45c which may be seen in FIGURE 1 tobe of generally U-shaped configuration and each provided with an openingan (FIGURE 2) through which all of the fluid within the inlet segment isdischarged radially outwardly into a particular receptacle as requiredfor counterbalancing purposes. In the exemplary disclosure illustrated,there are three receptacles 39, and accordingly, each segment 4561-6may, if desired, extend through 120 of are on the front wall of the drum24. The inlet segments, generally designated by numeral 45, are attachedin firm assembly as by welding or the like to the drum front wall inregistry with the liquid supply means provided to introduce balancingfluid thereinto.

In order to control the introduction of balancing fluid into thereceptacles 39 by way of the inlet segments 45zz-c, there is utilized inaccordance with the instant invention, as a controlling variable, amechanical signal manifested as a relatively small oscillatory movementbetween the casing 18 and a relatively stationary reference meansassociated with the base structure. A balance housing, designatedgenerally in FIGURES 3 and 4 by the numeral 75, comprises a plate-likemember attached by fastening means 76 to the front wall 18b of thecasing 18.

The balance housing 75 is passaged at 75a (FIGURE 4) adjacent its upperend, and firmly received in the opening thus provided is a sleeve member77 having a generally D-shaped opening 77a forming therein by a notchextending approximately half way through the sleeve member 77. Journaledin bearings 78 within the sleeve member 77 is a rod or shaft means 79having a notch forming a flat portion and defining a generally D-shapedrecess 79a mating with the similarly shaped opening 77a in the sleevemember 77. The shaft means 79 threadably receives at one end screw means80 to effect attachment of a flag, stream interrupter or deflectormember 81.

The shaft means 79 is radially tapped and threaded on the flat portionof the D-shaped recess 79:: to receive therein screw means 82a and 82bto eccentrically mount (on shaft means 79) cam means 83, washer means 84and a relatively thin leaf spring member directly adjacent flat portion79a. As appears in the drawings, attaching portion 83a of the cam member33, the washer means 84 and one end of the leaf spring member 85 areessentially entirely contained in the recessed portion 79a of the shaftmeans 79 and the passage 77a of the sleeve member 77.

The cam member 83 which corotates with the shaft 79 in a limited arcuatemotion is provided with cam lobes 83b and 830 engaging a roller-likefollower means 86 (FIGURE 3) rotatably carried by an arm member 87pivotally connected at 88 to the balance housing 75. The end of the armmember 87 extends beyond the follower means 86 and has a flange portion87a formed thereon to which is connected spring means 89 which in turnis connected to a stationary anchor member 90 connected to the balancehousing 75.

The balance housing 75 further mounts bleed valve means 91 by clampmeans 92, the valve means 91 having a stem portion 91a located foractuation by the flange portion 87a on the arm member 87. As will bedescribed in detail later, the bleed valve means 91 connects throughconduit means 91b to the transmission means 26 to slip or disengage afriction clutch in the transmission means, whereby increasedacceleration of the drum 24 is prevented so that during performance ofthe counterbalancing function the drum is maintained at the rotativespeed which caused the off-balance condition to produce the sensedvibratory deflections of the casing 18. In practice, the pneumaticclutch control and the water balance system are coordinated so that thefluid balancing takes place prior to slipping of the friction clutch. Insuch a case the controls are adjusted so that greater oscillation of thecasing 18 is required to actuate the valve 91, than to move the streamdeflector 81.

The leaf spring reaction member 85 (FIGURES 1 and 3) is clampinglyengaged at its opposite end by stationary or immovable structure duringdrum rotation so that if the drum vibrates by reason of an off-balanceload therein, the shaft 79 is slightly rotated to pivot the deflector orstream interrupter member 81 out of blocking relation with nozzle means95 to permit the discharge of counterbalancing fluid from the nozzleopening into the proper inlet segments 45a-c diametrically opposed tothe off-balance load. In this regard, it is to be observed that there isprovided a splash housing 96 mounted on the casing front wall 18bbetween the casing 18 and drum 24. The splash housing has formed thereina slotted opening 96a in registry with the outlet of the nozzle 95.

The clamping means for the leaf reaction member 85 comprises astationary or immovable frame member Ill!) erected from the channelmember 13a of the base frame structure 13, and attached thereto bywelding techniques, fastening means or other suitable modes ofsecurement. The stationary reaction member 19%) is notched at ltltla toprovide a claw portion ltltlb clampingly engaging one end of the leafspring reaction member 85.

In summary it can be seen that the frame member Ill!) serves as astationary abutment or reaction member to stituzting the output shown'inFEGURE 5.

which one end of the leaf spring member 85 is attached, a

the other end of the latter member 85 being attached to the flat on theshaft 79 to which the flag 81 and cam 83 are also rigidly connected.Oscillation of the casing 18 during rotation of unbalanced loads in themachine places leaf spring 85 alternately in tension and compression,and the resulting flexing and buckling of the eccentrically connectedspring member 85 oscillates members 81 and 83 to control the waterbalancing and clutch control functions during the fluid extraction ofthe ma.- chine.

As was earlier stated, the described Water balance system isillustrative of a typical arrangement which can be employed inconjunction with the acceleration control system of this invention.During the course of the following description, which is directedparticularly to a new and improved system for controlling drumacceleration in response to deflections of the cylinder or drumstructure relative to stationary base structure, it will be readilyapparent that other types of water balance systems can be effectivelyutilized.

Briefly stated, in the acceleration control system of this invention thebleed valve means 91, which is mounted on the balance housing 75 andsenses vibrations caused by rotation of an unbalanced load in the drum24, connects with an outlet port of a solenoid operated air valve meansand is constructed to provide a pressure bleed-off line between an aircompressor and the air cylinder in control of slip clutch means in thetransmission 26. Compressed air from a suitable source is communicatedto an inlet port in the solenoid valve means, and the solenoid isenergized to accelerate drum 24 from tumble to spin speed bypressurizing a chamber within the solenoid valve means leading to thepneumatic clutch. When an olfbalance load is accelerated and produces adeflection, the bleed oil? valve on the balance housing isintermittently opened to reduce the pressure in the solenoid valvechamber, which through the outlet port leading to the clutch aircylinder, slips the clutch to prevent increased drum acceleration untilthe oft-balance load is counterbalanced. However, and as will be pointedout in detail hereinafter, the drum rotative speed is not necessarilyreduced, but is maintained at essentially the speed which caused thecasing deflections, so that there is no interference with accomplishmentof the proper water balancing function.

The acceleration control system of this invention is more or lessdiagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 5, and'it may be seen therefromthat the drive motor 25 com nects with the transmission means 26 havingan output shaft mountin the pulley s27 and 28 (FIGURE 6) con- Thestructural details of the transmission means 26 will be later described,and for the'present purposes it may be noted from FIGURE that conduitmeans Itlll is in communication with the transmission means (secifically a clutch actuated air cylinder therein which will also belater de scribed) and an outlet port 111 of solenoid air valve meansgenera designated by the numeral 112. A com- 'pressor 5.13 of anysuitable construction has connected to the outlet port thereof conduitmeans 114- leadiug to an inlet port 115 ofthe solenoid valve means 112.The solenoid valve means is further provided with a second outlet port116 which communicates through the conduit means hftb with the bleed-o3or relief valve means it.

The solenoid valve means M2 is provided with a body portion 119 havingat one end thereof a plurality of threaded openings 12th, 1291: and Elflilo receiving coupling members 122a, 1211; and 1210, respectively,which are internaily bored to provide the outlet port 116, inlet portdiameter assages and Mia. The chamber communicates with a chamber 123through a central aperture 124a in a rigid diaphragm member 124, whichis further provided with vent passages 12% leading through vent passages11% in the body portion 119 to atmosphere.

The central aperture 124a in the rigid diaphragm memher 124 receives agenerally T-shaped flat surfaced valve member 126 positioned for contactwith a solenoid annature 127 when solenoid 128 is de-energized. It maybe noted from FIGURE 5 that the solenoid armature 127 has a centralaxial passage 12% and bottoming at one end thereof is spring means 129which also bottoms against a fixed plug member 130 having a passage 130atherein. The plug member 13% may be secured in any suitable manner to asolenoid housing 131, and if desired, seal means 132. may be locatedbetween the solenoid armature 127 and the plug member 13% Theenergization of the solenoid 128 of the solenoid valve means 112controls the shifting of the two-speed transmission 26 from tumble tospin speeds. When the solenoid is de-energ led, lthe spring-loadedsolenoid armature r27 assumes its uppermost position which forces thevalve member 126 against surface 122a, which in turn permits cavity orchamber 122. to be vented to atmosphere through the vents or passages.124a, 12417 and 11% the rigid diaphragm 12-: and body portion 119,respectiveiy. This action prevents the air pressure from the compressorfrom reaching the pneumatic clutch in the transmission 26. in addition,this action blocks the inlet passage 115a to the chamber 122, and thecompressor 1113 can thereby build up pressure until conventional reliefmeans in the compressor bleeds the excess pressure.

When it is desired to shift the transmission from tumble to spin speed,the solenoid 123 is energized, forexample, by su table electricalcircuitry connected to the presettablc timer means of FIGURE 2.Energization of the solenoid 123 withdraws the solenoid armature 127against the pressure of spring means 129 to essentially the position 0FIGURE 5. The air pressure from the inlet port iii, coupled withgravitational forces, moves the valve member r26 to a seating positionupon surface 1240 of the rigid diaphragm member 12d. This blockscommunication between the chambers 122 and 123, and pressurizes both ofthe valve outlets tilt and 116. The outlet port 111 leads to thepneumatic clutch in the transmission means 26 causing this clutch tooperate. The outlet 116 connects to the bleed-oil valve 91, andas anoff-balance load accelerated and produces a deflection, the bleedoffvalve is intermittently opened to cause a reduction of the a. Thereduced air r pressure in the chamber 122. pressure acting upon thepneumatic clutch causes clutch slipping and a termination of increaseddrum acceleration, until the oft-balance load is counterbalanced.

The positioning of the valve core stem 91a with respect to the flangeportion @762 on the arm member 87 (FIG- URE 3) is adjustably controlledin relation to the'position of the deflector or interrupter member 81and its associated parts so that a slightly greater deflection of thetan? and cylinder assembly is required to bleed off the necessaryoperating air pressure, than is required to initiatc tr e waterbalancing action. This is a mere matter of proper adjustment of parts,and assures that the water balancing funct-ionwill be first initiatedand the acceleration control then set into action to maintain thetransmission speed ratio at the speed which initially caused theoff-balance condition and initiated the counterbalancing action, withoutunnecessarily diminishing the cylinder speed. 7

Referring now to FIGURE 6, the transmission means 26 is provided with ahousing 15% comprising a main body portion 51 to which is securedbyfastening means 152 a cap portion 153. The main body portion 151 isformed with an apertured central embossment 154. receiving therethroughvariable diameter shaft means 155. connected at one end to themotormeans 25. The apertured 9 emhossment 154 may receive bearing means156 and seal means 157.

Axially inwardly of the bearing means 156 there is corotatably mountedupon the shaft means 155 gear means 158 in meshing relation with gearmeans 159 corotatably mounted as by pin means 159a upon shaft means 1611supported at opposite ends in bearing means 161 and 162 received inrecesses in the body portion 151 and cap portion 153, respectively.

The shaft means 164) supports for corotation gear means 163, keyed as at163a to shaft 160, meshing with gear means 164 which rotates freely at aconstant speed upon sleeve means 165 connected to the pulley 27 andsurrounding the reduced diameter portion of the shaft means 155.

Gear means 164 includes an eccentric portion 164:: that has mounted onit an encircling follower strap member 165a that drives the piston (notshown) of the compressor 113 at a constant speed Whenever motor 25 isenergized.

Gear 164 is also provided with a pocket which receives a disc insertmember 166 which is anchored to gear 164 by means of the cross pin 166a.Mounted on sleeve 165 and positioned within a cylindrical recessprovided in the member 166 is a sprocket-like clutch member 167 and aplurality of clutch roller members 168 which cooperate with members 166and 167 to form a one-way drive connection between these latter members.Since the one-way roller clutch formed by members 166, 167 and 168 is ofconventional construction, it will sufiice to state that this connectionis made during the low or tumble speed operations when member 166 camsrollers 168 tightly against the sprocket-like clutch member 167 torotate sleeve member 165 and the driven pulley 27 at tumble speed.During the spin operations, member 167 is driven at the speed of theshaft 155 and thus overruns disc member 166, thereby moving rollermembers 168 to a disengaged position.

Clutch member 167' is provided with a notched laterally extending flange167a which positively-engages a cup or dish-shaped member 169. Locatedwithin the recess defined by the member 129 is a clutch disc 170 whichis provided with friction surfaces 17 a and which is corotatable with amounting collar 171 which in turn is corotatable with and axiallymovable relative to the shaft 155. Corotatable with and axially movableon the collar 171 is a second clutch disc 172 provided with frictionsurface 172a. Corotatable with and axially movable on the cup-shapedmember 159 and positioned between the clutch disc 17b and 172 is a drivedisc 169a.

The means for shifting the collar member 171 to vary the rotative speedof the pulley 27, as by terminating continued acceleration when anoff-balance load is detected, may comprise a yoke member 175 connectedto the collar member 171 and bearing against a fulcrumproviding surface176, while being connected at its opposite end to an elongated endportion 177a on piston arm 177. The piston end portion may travel in anembossment 178, while the piston arm is guided by an aperturedembossment 17% formed on cylinder 179 connected to the cover member 153.As appears in FIGURE 6, the piston arm portion 177 is connected to ahead portion 186, and the cover portion 153 is apertured (not shown) toreceive the conduit means 110 for supplying air pressure to the cylinderchamber 181.

The operation of the acceleration control system of this invention maybe described as follows: As the machine proceeds from tumble to spinspeed, the solenoid 128 in the solenoid valve means 112 is energized bythe electrical circuitry in the machine. Energization of the solenoid128 withdraws the solenoid armature 127 in opposition to the pressure ofthe spring 129 and to essentially the position of FIGURE 5. The airpressure from the compressor 113 entering the inlet port 115, incombination with gravitational forces, moves the valve member 126against the surface 1240' to block the passage 124a between the chambers122 and 123. The valve outlet ports 111 and 116 are then pressurized,and as was noted, these ports lead through the conduit means and 91b tothe air cylinder chamber 181 in the transmission 26 and the bleed-offvalve 91, respectively.

Pressurization of the air cylinder chamber 181 in the transmissionhousing pivots the top of the yoke arm 175 to the left about fulcrum 176(FIGURE 6) which causes disc member 172 to move to the right to movedrive member 169a and clutch portion to the right, until dish-shapedmember 169 is driven through collar member 171 at the speed of the shaft155. This causes clutch member 167 to override disc member 166 and thusthe drum 24 is driven at spin speed.

As the cylinder 24 rotates with an unbalanced load therein, thedeflections resulting in the drum and casing structure, throughconnection between the rigid reaction member 101) and shaft means 79 bymeans of the leaf spring member 85, cause swinging movement of the cammember 83, which rocks the camrning surface 83!) thereof against thefollower means 86 on the lever member 87. This forces the flange portion87a on the lever member 87 against the valve stem 91a of the bleed-offvalve 91. As a result, pressure in the chamber 122 of the solenoid valvemeans 112 is reduced, which lessens the pressure applied against thepiston 18%) of the air cylinder 179, and the yoke member pivots inopposite directions about the fulcrum 176 to intermittently shift thecollar member 171 along the shaft 155.

This action causes less pressure on the disc 169a and on the insidevertical surface of dish member 169, resulting in a slipping action ofthe pneumatic clutch. However, since there is intermittent slippage inthe pneumatic clutch herein provided, there is no marked speed reductionin the pulley 27 necessarily, but merely a termination of an increasedacceleration rate. In other words, the pulley 27 which drives thecylinder 24 rotates at essentially the speed which caused theoff-balance condition, so that the counter balancing action cancontinue.

As the oif-balanced condition is corrected by the injection of balancingfluid into the proper receptacle or receptacles 39, deflection of theshaft 79 with respect to stationary member 1% will decrease with theresult that flange portion 87a will no longer depress valve stem 91a toopen valve 91 thus, chamber 181 will receive full air pressure andacceleration of the drum 24 will continue until an off-balanced loadproduces the necessary deflections to again intermittently bleed-offchamber 122 through valve 91. Of course, when the extraction cycle iscompleted, the acceleration control system reverts to the conditionoriginally described when the solenoid 128 is de-energized. The actionof the spring 129 then forces the valve member 126 against the surface122a, which permits the chamber 122 to be vented through the passage12411 and through the vent openings 1241) and 119a. In this manner, theincreased air pressure from the compressor 113 does not reach thepneumatic clutch, and since the inlet passage 115a is blocked, abuild-up of pressure occurs in the compressor 113 until the conventionalrelief valve therein opens.

As is now appreciated, whenever the drum and casing assembly moves tothe left in FIGURE 1, the leaf spring member 85 is placed in tension andcauses the shaft 79 to move counterclockwise with respect to the housing75 to cause the deflector 81 to move downwardly out of blocking relationwith the nozzle outlet 95b. On the other hand, as the balance housing 75moves to the right of the vertical centerline due to an unbalance loadin the cylinder or drum 24, the leaf spring member is compressed betweenthe shaft 79 and the clamping surfaces liilla of the rigid reactionmember 100. This compressing action tends to somewhat buckle or bend theleaf spring mem ber 85, however, the leaf spring member is effective totoposition.

tate the shaft 79 in a clockwise direction to cause the deflector tomove upwardly, although the upward deflector movement is not suflicientto permit the introduction of water into the balance tanks, which wouldadd to the unbalanced load.

The interrupter or deflector member 81 moves approximately an equalamount in opposite directions from its neutral or properly indexedposition and in exact phase with the drum and casing assembly deflectionby originally establishing the proper relationship between the flatportion of the recessed section 79a (FIGURE 4) in the shaft means 79 andthe deflector member 81. To accomplish this, the sleeve member 77 wheninstalled in the balance housing 75 is positioned so that the cut-outportion 77a of the sleeve 77 allows the shaft recess portion 79a tooperate in its proper dimensional position. After the drive member 85,washer means 84, and cam member 83 are positioned on the shaft recessportion 79a, and the interaction between cam surface 83b and rollerfollower 86 as driven by spring 89 has placed the fiat portion of theshaft recess 79a in its proper neutral position, the deflector member 81is screwed by means 80 into the shaft. A particular dimension isestablished for this purpose as a result of test investigations, andthis dimension locates the top of the deflector or interrupter member 81with respect to the outlet 95b of the nozzle assembly 95. Thisestablishes the proper phase relationship between the position of theoff-balance load in the drum 24 and the movement of the deflector 81 toallow the balancing fluid to pass into the collector segments 45.

After this exact dimension has been found, the deflector is locked byscrew means 80 in this dimensional position with respect to the balancenozzle outlet 95b. Thereafter, the bleed-off valve 91 is adjusted in thebalance housing 75 to give a proper dimensional distance of the valvestem 91a from flange portion 8711 when the cam follower 86 is centeredon the cam surface 83b of the cam member 83 as controlled by the spring89 with leaf spring member 85 unlocked. This dimension assures that thebleed-off or clutch slippage will occur at a deflection slightly greaterthan the deflection necessary to initiate water balancing, for thepurpose earlier indicated of maintaining the drum rotative speed at thatspeed which caused the olf-balance condition to produce the necessarywater balancing initiation deflections. With the discussed adjustmentsmade, which can be a bench assembly operation, the entire assembly isready to be installed on the front wall 18b of the casing 18.

At this point, it should be noticed that cam surfaces or I lobes 83b and83c of cam member 83 are cut to drive flange portion 87a downwardly fordeflections of the casing 18 on each side of the machines verticalcenterline. This sensitivity to deflections of the casing on both sidesof the vertical centerline provides a very important safety feature. Ifthe exemplary machine was to be installed and properly adjusted in onelocation for the life of the machine, it would be necessary to onlydrive flange portion 87a downwardly when the casing deflected to oneside of the ventical centerline and the machine would operate properlywithout dangerous vibrations. If the bleedoff valve 91 was sensitive todeflections of the casing to one side of the vertical centerline onlyand the machine was moved without unclamping reaction member 85 frommember 100, a serious vibration condition could arise. If the slope ofthe floor inthe new location was different from the slope in the formerlocation, the casing 18 would shift somewhat with respect to the basestructure 13 and the shaft 79 would rotate. The deflector 81 and the cammember 83, assuming the member 85 was not unclamped, would not be intheir proper neutral positions. Flange portion 87a, assuming it wouldmove downwardly with movements or deflections of the casing to only oneside of the machine vertical centerline, would now either be too closeor too far from stem 91a in its new neutral If too close, the pneumaticsystem would be bled off due to smaller deflections than normal and drumacceleration could not take place. If too far, a serious conditionarises such that it would take very large deflections of the casingbefore flange portion 87a would operate stem 91a to open valve 91 tostop acceleration of the off-balanced load in the drum 24. Thesedeflections may be large enough to cause the machine to walk or even totopple over. This dangerous situation is completely eliminated in theexemplary machine by cutting the cam 83 to have a lobe 83b and a lobe830 so that these lobes will drive flange portion 87a downwardly withdeflections of the casing 18% to each side of the vertical centerline.Thus, if the machine were moved without unclamping member 85 and theneutral position of the cam member 83 was upset, the flange portion 87awould always operate valve 91 to arrest drum acceleration at adeflection of the casing to one side of the machine vertical centerlinethat was smaller than normally needed to operate valve 91. This wouldcorrespond to the too close condition just described. Thus, thedangerous vibration condition has been eliminated, but before themachine could be operated properly, it would be necessary to unclampmember 85 to allow the spring 89 to return deflector 81 and cam member83 to their proper neutral positions. Of course, member 85 should alwaysbe unclamped when the machine is moved to a new location.

By the present invention an off-balance condition is rapidly andeifectively overcome, and as well, by provision of the bleed-off system,precise control is maintained over the acceleration of the drum orcylinder 24 so that the drum not only does not rotate at a speed anyconsiderable degree faster than that which caused the off-balancecondition to produce the necessary water balancing initiationdeflections, but also by not actuating the bleed-off system at the samedeflection resulting'from the cit-balance load, the drum rotative speedis not reduced to a value such that the water balancing system would berendered ineffective.

Various modifications can of course be eflected in the structuredisclosed without departing from the novel concepts of the instantinvention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a washing machine, a drive motor, a support, a rotary basket forreceiving fabrics to be washed and centrifugally dried, means mountingsaid basket on said support for movement in response to vibrationsproduced by rotation of unbalanced loads in said basket at centrifugingspeeds, a transmission interconnecting said drive motor and said basketand having a low speed ratio for tumbling fabrics at a lower washingspeed and a high speed ratio for rotating said basket at highercentrifuging speeds for extracting fluids from said fabrics, clutchmeans for changing the speed ratios of said transmission, actuatingmeans for said clutch means, pressure source means including conduitmeans directing pressurized fluid to said actuating means, and valvemeans connected to said support and mounted in said conduit means,actuator means connected to said basket mounting means and operable uponmovement of said basket mounting means due to rotation of unbalancedloads at said high speed ratio to actuate said valve'means for reducingthe flow of said pressurized fluid to said actuating means to shift saidclutch means and limit the speed ratio of said transmission to a valuebetween said low and said high speed ratios to thereby eflect therotation of said basket at a safe optimum speed above said lower washingspeed, said actuator means comprising a valve actuator including aplurality of cam lobes pivotally mounted on said basket mounting meansand responsive to vibratory movements thereof, said valve meansincluding a movable member positioned to be selectively actuated by saidcam lobes.

2. Laundry apparatus comprising, drive means, support means, a rotarybasket for receiving fabrics to be washed and centrifugally dried, meansmounting said basket on said support means to accommodate vibratorymovements of said basket as produced by the rotation of acentrio loadsin said basket, transmission means interconnecting said drive means andsaid basket to provide a plurality of speed ratios for rotating saidbasket, means providing a source of fluid pressure, fluid clutch meanscontrolling the selection of said speed ratios, conduit meansinterconnecting said source of fluid pressure with said fluid clutchmeans, valve means in said conduit means, valve actuator means connectedto said basket mounting means, a movable cam pivotally mounted on saidmounting means, reaction means interconnected between said cam and saidsupport means for moving said cam in response to vibratory movements ofsaid basket, said cam including a plurality of lobes engageable withsaid valve actuator means for actuating said valve means in response tosaid vibrations for regulating the supply of pressure to the clutchmeans and thereby limiting the rotation of said basket to those speedswhich produce only minimal basket vibrations of a predeterminedamplitude, means for counterbalancing said acentric loads in saidbasket, and control means operatively connected between the basketmounting means and said support means and operatively engageable withsaid valve actuator means and said means for counterbalancing so thatgreater amplitudes of basket movement are required for actuation of saidvalve means and for said counterbalancing means.

3. Laundry apparatus comprising, drive means, support means, a rotarybasket for receiving fabrics to be washed and centrifugally dried, meansmounting said basket on said support means to accommodate vibratorymovements of said basket as produced by the rotation of acentric loadsin said basket, transmission means interconnecting said drive means andsaid basket to provide a plurality of speed ratios for rotating saidbasket, a compressor driven by transmission means, fluid clutch means insaid transmission means controlling the selection of said speed ratios,conduit means interconnecting said compressor and said fluid clutchmeans, a cam having first and second cam lobes pivotally mounted on saidbasket mounting means and movable in unison therewith as a function ofthe oscillatory movements of said basket caused by the rotation ofunbalanced loads therein, a valve actuator lever pivotally mounted onsaid basket mounting means, said valve actuator lever including a camfollower positioned between said cam. lobes, and a bleed-off valve insaid conduit means positioned adjacent said valve actuator lever foractuation of said valve during vibratory movements of said basket tobleed said conduit means for regulating the supply of fluid pressure tothe clutch means and thereby limiting the effective speed ratio of saidtransmission and controlling the rotational speed of said basket to asafe optimum speed wherein only minimal basket vibrations of apredetermined amplitude will be produced.

4. Laundry apparatus as defined in claim 3 and further characterized bysaid cam follower being provided with roller means to facilitaterelative movement. between said valve actuator lever and said cam, andfurther including means holding said roller means against said cam.

Armstrong Sept. 13, 1955 Bochan Aug. 23, 1960

1. IN A WASHING MACHINE, A DRIVE MOTOR, A SUPPORT, A ROTARY BASKET FORRECEIVING FABRICS TO BE WASHED AND CENTRIFUGALLY DRIED, MEANS MOUNTINGSAID BASKET ON SAID SUPPORT FOR MOVEMENT IN RESPONSE TO VIBRATIONSPRODUCED BY ROTATION OF UNBALANCED LOADS IN SAID BASKET AT CENTRIFUGINGSPEEDS, A TRANSMISSION INTERCONNECTING SAID DRIVE MOTOR AND SAID BASKETAND HAVING A LOW SPEED RATIO FOR TUMBLING FABRICS AT A LOWER WASHINGSPEED AND A HIGH SPEED RATIO FOR ROTATING SAID BASKET AT HIGHERCENTRIFUGING SPEEDS FOR EXTRACTING FLUIDS FROM SAID FABRICS, CLUTCHMEANS FOR CHANGING THE SPEED RATIOS OF SAID TRANSMISSION, ACTUATINGMEANS FOR SAID CLUTCH MEANS, PRESSURE SOURCE MEANS INCLUDING CONDUITMEANS DIRECTING PRESSURIZED FLUID TO SAID ACTUATING MEANS, AND VALVEMEANS CONNECTED TO SAID SUPPORT AND MOUNTED IN SAID CONDUIT MEANS,ACTUATOR MEANS CONNETED TO SAID BASKET MOUNTING MEANS AND OPERABLE UPONMOVEMENT OF SAID BASKET MOUNTING MEANS DUE TO ROTATION OF UNBALANCEDLOADS AT SAID HIGH SPEED RATIO TO ACTUATE SAID VALVE MEANS FOR REDUCINGTHE FLOW OF SAID PRESSURIZED FLUID TO SAID ACTUATING MEANS TO SHIFT SAIDCLUTCH MEANS AND LIMIT THE SPEED RATIO OF SAID TRANSMISSION TO A VALVEBETWEEN SAID LOW AND SAID HIGH SPEED RATIOS TO THEREBY EFFECT THEROTATION OF SAID BASKET AT A SAFE OPTIMUM SPEED ABOVE SAID LOWER WASHINGSPEED, SAID ACTUATOR MEANS COMPRISING A VALVE ACTUATOR INCLUDING APLURALITY OF CAM LOBES PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID BASKET MOUNTING MEANSAND RESPONSIVE TO VIBRATORY MOVEMENTS THEREOF, SAID VALVE MEANSINCLUDING A MOVABLE MEMBER POSITIONED TO BE SELECTIVELY ACTUATED BY SAIDCAM LOBES.